


Only Galaxy I Need

by cytrusfriend



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: AU, M/M, One Shot, Time Travel, but not really shyan, galaxy, prompt, shyan, skeptic believer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 21:51:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12442530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cytrusfriend/pseuds/cytrusfriend
Summary: Shane finds peace in the night sky. Ryan is a time traveller. Both are just looking for what's right.(A short one-shot written based off of a prompt given by @bfu60min on Tumblr)





	Only Galaxy I Need

**Author's Note:**

> Original post here: https://justrazorboy.tumblr.com/post/166642373538/only-galaxy-i-need

The dark sky was covered in thousands of colourful specks. It was one of Shane Madej’s favourite sights; it made him feel something he couldn’t quite explain. All of his anxieties and problems disappeared when he spent long nights out in his backyard, staring up at the stars and planets of their galaxy. It put him in a trance. A beautiful, relaxed trance.

Shane was often alone. Even if he had many to share his experience with, he didn’t want to give up his only form of solace in such a dark world to somebody else, somebody he probably didn’t care much for. It was his.

Tonight was different, however. He couldn’t bear to pass up on sharing this special moment with someone who may as well have been a galaxy in himself. Ryan Bergara; whose skin was as smooth as the sky and whose eyes twinkled and were as bright as the North Star. For that past week, Shane had not been able to tear his eyes away from such a person. It didn’t matter how bright the sun was, or who was around, seeing Ryan affected Shane in the same ways the night sky did.

But all of that would soon end. And the thought tore at Shane’s insides, scraping them out until he was bare.

“You’re full of shit, Bergara,” Shane responded quietly, smiling as Ryan’s face scrunched up in protest.

“I’m telling you the truth, there are other beings out there.” He gestured to the open sky above them. “Aliens, as you people like to say.”

Shane could believe that. He never thought the existence of aliens was impossible. In fact, they were much more likely to exist than other cryptids. “I just wish I could see one for myself,” Shane admitted. 

The two fell into a comfortable silence. Usually, Shane would prefer the quiet, but both knew that in the hours to come, all of this, their friendship, would come to an end. And he didn’t want his mind to linger in those dark places.

“Ryan. You’ve been around a lot, yeah?”

Ryan turned to Shane with a questioning look. “You mean through time? Yeah.”

“What has your favourite period been? I mean, where did you go that you wished you could stay there forever?” Shane watched as Ryan’s cheeks flushed under the moonlight.

“Right now… Is pretty nice. You’re pretty nice.” He whispered. “I wish I could stay here forever. But– I can’t.”

Shane’s heart dropped to his stomach at those words. “I don’t want you to leave either..” Every fiber of his body wanted to twist and snap. He never found goodbyes to be particularly hard, but this one was unbearable. “Why can’t you?”

Ryan took a deep breath. “I was given my ability to travel through time as a gift. My mother knew how miserable I was at home. There was nothing for me there. Just poverty and war.”

They had spoken about where Ryan had grown up previously when they first met each other. Shane was disgusted by it. The future was not a nice place to live; it was overrun by selfish governments, and the environment had been long destroyed by pollution and trash. Countries fought endlessly over supplies, which made no sense to Shane. They were just destroying even more of what they needed to survive.

“I promised her, that with it, I would find the best place for me. She didn’t care where I ended up, so long as I was happy.” Ryan smiled fondly at the memory of his mother. He hadn’t seen her in years. “This is probably going to sound cruel, and harsh, but please don’t take it that way. I truly do love it here, and you have been the most interesting person I’ve met so far. But I need to experience it all. What if there’s something even better for me out there? A place that I’m meant to be? My mother always told me that no matter where I was destined to end up, I would always find my way back there.”

Shane, admittedly, wanted to cry. Everything about this situation was unfair, but he understood. He didn’t want to be the person to hold Ryan back. Instead, he reached out and grabbed his hand, holding it firmly in his. “Your mother sounds like a wise person. And I think she’s right. If you’re supposed to end up here with me, then someday down the road you’ll find your way back.”

Ryan stared up at Shane with glossy eyes and a sad smile etched onto his face. “Of course I will. And if that isn’t the case, I have a feeling our paths will still cross. They have to.”

The rest of their night was spent watching the stars. When the dreadful morning came, they said their final goodbyes before Ryan disappeared, as if he had just poofed out of existence. Throughout the years Shane often wondered if he had imagined the whole thing. How could someone as perfect as Ryan really exist? But against his disbeliefs, Shane waited. For years he continued to sit out and watch the night sky, wondering where Ryan was now, and if he still remembered their short week together.

Decades had come and gone. Shane was older, his skin wrinkled, but he was still the same. He had started to give up hope of ever seeing Ryan again when the day had finally come. But that day would not be what he had expected.

Kneeling, Shane wrapped his frail arms around the body. Tears poured down his cheeks as the familiar features of the galaxy showed through the man’s face. Only now, there was no twinkle in his eyes. They stared, unmoving, up at the dark sky. The same dark sky they had first met under. The same sky they bonded over; the same sky they were last under together before he had disappeared for years upon years.

“Ryan…” Shane croaked out, his voice shaky. There was no response. Shane’s shirt was stained with blood that seeped out of the other’s stomach wounds. “Please… You can’t do this…” I can’t do this. Not without you. I waited for so long, Ryan, please.

But there was nothing left to be done. Shane had watched, with his own two eyes, as Ryan had appeared across the street. He may have not seen the man for over thirty years but there was no doubt about it. That was Ryan. But, foolishly, Ryan couldn’t contain his excitement of finally being back where he belonged. He ran into the street, where a driver hit him. His body fell limp after being sent flying. 

“We’re going to have to ask you to step away, sir.” The paramedics behind Shane spoke. But Shane didn’t listen. His hands grazed over Ryan’s body, searching for it. 

“Sir, we understand you are going through some hard times, but we must examine the body-”

Shane tuned them out completely. His hands checked every pocket, searching. Desperately. 

The paramedics started to grab at Shane to pull him off, but he flailed and pushed them away. He needed it. Where was it?

The frustration and anxiety was building inside of him, threatening to boil over, when his hand finally clutched onto the object. He squeezed it tight, memories of that last day together flooding his mind. The commotion around him as people stopped to see what had happened disappeared completely. It was silent, all except for a low whirring sound gradually filling his ears. His eyes stayed shut, afraid of what he may see when they opened. Everything around him started to spin, his stomach becoming queasy from the rough movements as he was shaken around as if he were on some kind of ride. He hadn’t been on one in years. So many years had gone by, and he had accomplished nothing. He had waited so long- and for what? What kind of sick joke did the galaxy play on him? Was his life really that pathetic?

“Shane?”

The familiar voice broke through Shane’s thoughts. He slowly opened his eyes, only to find Ryan sitting in front of him, confusion was written all over his face. It was dark, but Shane knew exactly where they were. Ryan’s wrinkles were gone, and life had returned to his body. Images of his corpse that Shane was just holding flashed in his mind, but all of the bad feelings he was just feeling diminished completely, being face to face with Ryan. 

“What happens when you time travel?” Shane asked suddenly, earning a raised brow from Ryan. He knew it was an odd time to ask. This night had been tattooed to his mind and he recalled every word that was shared. Every last, heart-wrenching word.

“Well uh, I suppose it’s less of actually turning back time, and more like jumping through dimensions.” Ryan struggled to explain, bewildered by Shane’s random question. “There are billions of galaxies, each one with a minor difference that differentiates them from others. That’s why when I time travel, only my memory is affected. Everyone else has no idea what’s happening or has any recollection of their other selves. Essentially, I’m inhabiting the version of myself from every possible timeline when I jump galaxies.”

Shane nodded slowly. So he hadn’t actually travelled back in time. He had entered a new galaxy, one with a different outcome than the last. 

“Ryan… You can’t leave.”

Ryan let out a quiet sigh. “Shane, you know I want to stay but-”

“No. I don’t. You say you want to stay here but you’re set on leaving. Please, believe me. Follow your heart. We’re meant to be together, you’re meant to stay here. This is where you belong.” Shane practically begged. He knew there had to be something different, something that would make him stay. This was his last chance. If they truly were meant to be together, the galaxy would allow it. 

Ryan stayed silent. The words processed through his mind. “But how can you be sure?” He whispered.

Shane stared Ryan directly in the eye, his hand reaching to hold his as it had done decades previously in an alternate galaxy. “Fate has a weird way of letting me know.”

The words were ominous but Ryan was smart. He may not have remembered anything that Shane did, but the look that the older boy gave him explained everything he possibly needed to know. Ryan smiled properly, warmth spreading throughout his body as he made his decision with no knowledge of how great of an effect it would have.

“Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't intended to by Shyan but it kind of turned out that way? Anyway -- while writing this I realized there was a lot that I could do with this world, so maybe I'll come back to this in the future!


End file.
